Soccer offers a world of opportunity whether or not being a pro player is your path. So, in the next two episodes of the podcast, we changed it up a bit and spoke with individuals who are in the world of soccer but not currently players.
This week our guest was Andrew Hosmar, the business intelligence supervisor at New England Revolution. As a multi-sport athlete in high school, Hosmar played soccer, basketball, and baseball; at the collegiate level, Hosmar tackled a new sport—football—and was the kicker for two and a half years. In his junior year, a lingering high school knee injury required surgery which led him to pivot to the broadcast booth to protect his long-term health.
He described his decision to us as “doing whatever I could to connect myself, to continue to grow and expand my network, because I knew I wasn’t going to follow a traditional career path.” These decisions eventually led him toNew England Revolution and his current role.
Opportunities Abound
With nearly 100 professional soccer organizations across the country, there are ways for players to get involved, whether that’s as an intern with the Portland Timbers or a summer job with Phoenix Rising. Hosmar worked as an intern for a company where he helped them break into MLS. He reached out to his contacts on the West Coast, and by the end of his internship, the company had taken a 2000-mile road trip along the coast. This helped Hosmar see that it couldn’t hurt to go after opportunities…. Which is how he got into his current role as a business intelligence supervisor.
But what exactly is a business intelligence supervisor?
A business intelligence supervisor works mostly with data. In his role today, Hosmar’s trying to modernize how they interact with and use data. For example, if you buy a ticket to a game, what information can the team gather to help them funnel you through to specific marketing and strategy-specific campaigns that are tailored to your interests?
Here at Soccer Geeks, we love data. And so, we were excited to discuss this with him. Listen to this week’s episode to hear more of our conversation!